Today, we have exclusive access to a 40-page dossier from Coutts detailing the reasons behind their decision to close Nigel Farage’s accounts. The document reveals that the bank cited his retweet of a Ricky Gervais joke and his friendship with Novak Djokovic as evidence of his alleged ‘xenophobic and racist’ views. This shocking revelation came to light after Mr. Farage obtained the dossier and shared it with MailOnline. It appears that the 331-year-old bank decided to ‘exit’ him due to his association with Djokovic, who made headlines for his decision not to receive the Covid-19 vaccine during the pandemic.
The dossier also indicates that the bank’s discussions revolved around 13 tweets, one of which was a retweet by Mr. Farage of a video featuring a Ricky Gervais sketch satirizing the transgender movement. In the sketch, Gervais made a joke about ‘old-fashioned women – the ones with wombs’. Although Mr. Farage had retweeted the clip in May of last year with the phrase ‘this is brilliant’, the document described it as a ‘transphobic comedy sketch’.
Interestingly, the officials noted that closing Mr. Farage’s accounts could not be justified based on his wealth alone as his ‘economic contribution’ was sufficient to retain him on a commercial basis. However, they argued that his statements and views were not compatible with Coutts as an inclusive organization. They concluded that banking Mr. Farage would contradict their position as a bank committed to inclusivity.
The 36-page dossier provides extensive detail on Mr. Farage’s past public statements and controversies, including allegations made by Labour MP Chris Bryant under parliamentary privilege that Mr. Farage was paid over £500,000 by the Russian state. Mr. Farage vehemently denies this claim.
Coutts informed Mr. Farage last month of their decision to close his account, which he criticized as ‘political persecution’. Other customers who claim to have been abandoned by banks due to their political views have come forward as well. One customer, a priest, stated that his account was closed after he complained about messages from his building society during Pride month.
It is worth noting that the BBC, citing ‘people familiar with Coutts’s move’, reported that the decision to close Mr. Farage’s accounts was a ‘commercial’ one as they fell below the bank’s required financial threshold.
The Coutts documents, acquired by Mr. Farage through a ‘subject access request’, reflect discussions by a ‘Wealth Reputational Risk Committee’ on November 17 of last year. The committee determined that continuing to bank Mr. Farage was incompatible with Coutts due to his publicly-stated views that contradicted their commitment to inclusivity. They emphasized that this was not a political decision, but rather one based on inclusivity and purpose.
The dossier highlighted that there was no evidence of regulatory or legal action against Mr. Farage, that he had been professional and respectful to staff, and that he had been downgraded from a ‘higher risk politically exposed person [PEP]’ to lower risk and was on his way to being classified as no risk at all.
In response to the revelations, a Coutts spokesman stated that they are restricted by client confidentiality obligations and can provide limited information. They explained that decisions to close accounts take into account various factors, including commercial viability, reputational considerations, and legal and regulatory requirements. They confirmed that alternative banking arrangements had been offered within the wider group.
Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps expressed his dismay, stating that it would be ‘disgraceful’ if Coutts had closed Mr. Farage’s accounts due to misalignment of his views with the bank’s values. Mr. Shapps stressed the importance of free speech and criticized banks for wrongly applying regulations and guidelines, both in closing accounts and refusing to open them based on political or other positions. He argued that this should not be the case in the country.
Overall, these revelations shed light on the reasoning behind Coutts’ decision to close Nigel Farage’s accounts and raise questions about the role of political views in banking relationships.
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